ANNALS OF THE UPPER SILESIAN MUSEUM IN BYTOM ENTOMOLOGY Vol. 27 (online 001): 1–39 ISSN 0867-1966, eISSN 2544-039X (online) Bytom, 3.10.2018 ROLAND DOBOSZ1, ALEXI POPOV2 New data about the distribution of Neuropterida in Bulgaria and Romania http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1443230 1 Upper Silesian Museum, Department of Natural History, pl. Jana III Sobieskiego 2, 41-902 Bytom, Poland e-mail: [email protected] 2 National Museum of Natural History, Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd 1, 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria e-mail: [email protected] Abstract: The collections of neuropterid orders from Bulgaria and Romania preserved in museums in Poland (Upper Silesian Museum in Bytom and Museum and Institute of Zoology in Warsaw) are identified. Faunistic information on 89 species is reported: 77 species from Bulgaria and 37 species from Romania (25 species from both countries). Coniopteryx (Xeroconiopteryx) atlasensis, Megalomus tineoides, Cunctochrysa cosmia and Neuroleon assimilis are new species for the fauna of Bulgaria. These first records shift the range borders of three species with 190 to 700 km northwards. Easternmost localities of Phaeostigma (Phaeostigma) pilicollis and Nothochrysa capitata and northernmost locality of Neuroleon assimilis are registered. The new localities outline the borders of the ranges of 20 species. Very rare species are Phaeostigma (Pontoraphidia) rhodopicum (Balkan endemic species), Libelloides lacteus (a single population in Romania), Coniopteryx (Metaconiopteryx) lentiae (in Romania), Coniopteryx (Holoconiopteryx) haematica and Sagittalata perla (both in Bulgaria), and Nedroledon anatolicus (in both countries). Key words: Raphidioptera, Megaloptera, Neuroptera, faunistics, Bulgaria, Romania. INTRODUCTION The fauna of all three neuropterid orders of Romania and Bulgaria is well explored and the species diversity is almost fully known. The knowledge of the three orders in Romania is mainly due to the activity for many years of Prof. Béla Kis (1924-2003). The excellent monograph of Fauna of Romania (KIS et al. 1970), almost entirely compiled by him, is one of the first modern works on Neuroptera in Europe. It contains original drawings, identification keys, morphological descriptions and maps of the localities of each species and has not lost its significance to this day. The following taxa have been reported as new for the fauna of Romania during the next nearly half a century: the families Berothidae by KIS (1992) and Nevrorthidae by SZIRÁKI (2008) as well 1 Libelloides lacteus by BELOESCU (1973), 4 species of Myrmeleontidae by KIS & BOBÎRNAC (1971), KIS (1972) and SZIRÁKI (2000), and 9 species of Chrysopidae by PAULIAN (2002) and MONSERRAT et al. (2014). Detailed data on the distribution of the species of Raphidioptera in Romania were published by KIS (1984). The species diversity in Bulgaria is also generally known and the distribution in this country is better studied in Southern Bulgaria. The results are systematized by families. Summarized information was published for Megaloptera (Sialidae) by POPOV (1981), Raphidioptera (Raphidiidae and Inocelliidae) by ASPÖCK et al. (1991), Coniopterygidae by POPOV (1983, 1986a), Hemerobiidae by POPOV (1986b), Chrysopidae by POPOV (1990a), Myrmeleontidae by POPOV (1996) and for the other eight families of Neuroptera by POPOV (2007). Additional new species for the country were reported in Sisyridae by RAUSCH and WEISSMAIR (2007), in Hemerobiidae by POPOV (1991, 2002a), in Chrysopidae by POPOV (1991, 2002a), THIERRY et al. (1998) and THIERRY & CANARD (2018), and in Myrmeleontidae by KačíreK (2013). Results of regional faunistic investigations in some parts of Bulgaria have been published on Central Stara Planina Range, Vitosha Mts., Rila Mts., Kresna Gorge, Eastern Rhodopes Mts., Black Sea Coast. Entomologists from Poland in the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century were and are interested in the fauna of Bulgaria and, to a lesser extent, that of Romania. They have been looking for xerothermophilous Mediterranean species in Bulgaria which are not found among the Eurosiberian and Central European fauna prevailing in Poland. During the communist regime, it was almost the only chance to collect in such habitats. Despite the travel opportunities around the world that arose after the collapse of communism, the collector trips of Polish zoologists to Bulgaria have increased many times. Some entomologists organized special visits to collect material; others collected on their way to Greece or Turkey; and others, during a tourist holiday. Although they are experts on different insect groups, a large number of entomologists have also collected Neuropterida. So, quite rich collections were created in Poland, mainly in the Upper Silesian Museum in Bytom. The aim of this paper is to publish data on all specimens of Neuroptera, Raphidioptera and Megaloptera from Romania and Bulgaria kept in Polish museums. Among them, there are both confirmatory records of previously published localities of species as well as new data on species and localities that are of faunistic interest. MATERIAL AND METHODS The collections of Neuropterida from Romania and Bulgaria, preserved in museum collections in Poland, numbered 1371 specimens. Most of them are kept in the Upper Silesian Museum in Bytom (1346 specimens); and the remaining 25 specimens, in the Museum and Institute of Zoology at the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw. In addition, four specimens from the collections of the National Museum of Natural History at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in Sofia of species reported here for the first time for Bulgaria are included. The material has been collected in both countries for more than 50 years between 1959 and 2015 from 29 collectors from Poland. Among them, 27 entomologists have provided their samples to the Museum in Bytom; and two entomologists, to the Museum in Warsaw. Very active from the collectors was the first author, who collected 1019 specimens or three- quarters of the entire material, with the highest number of specimens in each of the countries. Significant are the samples of Janusz Nowacki and Marek Bunalski (149 specimens), Tomasz Rynarzewski (47 specimens from Obzor in Bulgaria) and Tomasz Kwapniewski (31 specimens from Rimetea in Romania). The interest of Polish collectors was much more focused on Bulgaria than on Romania: 26 researchers collected 1233 specimens in Bulgaria; 2 and 7 researchers, 138 specimens in Romania. The preservation of the material in the collections of the Museum and Institute of Zoology in Warsaw and the National Museum of Natural History in Sofia is given in each sample in the systematic part. The lack of indication about the museum collection means that the specimens are kept in the collections of the Upper Silesian Museum in Bytom. Abbreviations of the names of the collectors and of the museum collections are used in the systematic part as follows: A & AN – leg. Anna Maryańska-Nadachowska & Adam Nadachowski DT – leg. Dariusz Tarnawski EG – leg. Elżbieta Głowacka HL – leg. Hristo Lukov JG – leg. Julius Ganev JK – leg. Jarosław Kania JKu – leg. Jacek Kurzawa JN – leg. Janusz Nowacki JN & MBu – leg. Janusz Nowacki & Marek Bunalski JSz – leg. Jacek Szwedo KD – leg. Krzysztof Dobosz KG – leg. Karol Glimos LK – leg. Lech Kruszelnicki ŁP – leg. Łukasz Przybyłowicz MB – leg. Marian Bielewicz MIZW – Museum and Institute of Zoology, Warsaw (Polish Academy of Sciences) MS – leg. Mirosław Soszyński NMNHS – National Museum of Natural History, Sofia (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences) RB – leg. Regina Bańkowska RBi – leg. Ryszard Bielawski RD – leg. Roland Dobosz RK – leg. Roman Królik RR – leg. Rafał Ruta RR & RR – leg. Rafał Ruta & Robert Rosa RSz – leg. Ryszard Szadziewski RZ – leg. Roman Zamorski SS – leg. Stefan Sobczak TK – leg. Tomasz Kwapniewski TR – leg. Tomasz Rynarzewski WŻ – leg. Waldemar Żyła ZCh – leg. Zbigniew Chrul ZM – leg. Zbigniew Mocarski The localities in both countries are given with their current names. For Romania, they are grouped by administrative regions; and for Bulgaria, by geographical regions. The first records of species for the geographical regions of Bulgaria and for the regions and districts 3 of Romania are registered. The habitats in which each species occurs are mentioned, and the distribution, including the vertical distribution, in the country concerned is outlined in general terms. Ecological information about Bulgaria is based on personal observations and on entire material from this country preserved in the National Museum of Natural History in Sofia. For rare species, information about the localities known so far in the country concerned is given. The borders of the range, crossing the two countries, and their changes on the basis of the material in museums in Poland are specified. Information on the species ranges is updated according to the literature after ASPÖCK et al. (2001). After consultation with Prof. Ulrike Aspöck and Prof. Horst Aspöck (Vienna), the families are arranged in the systematic order according to WANG et al. (2017). RESULTS List of species Raphidioptera Raphidiidae Phaeostigma (Phaeostigma) pilicollis (STEIN, 1863) Bulgaria. Rhodopes Mts.: Teshel, S of Devin, 2♂♂, 9.6.2010, A & AN. Thracian Lowland: Panicherevo, 18 km NW of Nova Zagora, 300 m, N 42º36’, E 25º51’, 2♀♀, 6.5.2005, RD. Eastern Stara Planina Range: Banya, 39 km NE of Burgas, 360m, N 42º46’, E 27º 47’, 4♂♂, 23.5.2005, RD. Phaeostigma pilicollis occurs in South Bulgaria and inhabits mostly deciduous vegetation